«　WEEK 8　DAY 2　»

　　1 Cor.15:45b …the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.

　　2 Tim.4:22a The Lord be with your spirit…

　　There is nothing more simple than breathing. A person may not understand many deep mysteries, but as long as he is a human being, he can breathe. Breathing is the most universal ability; any living creature can breathe. Christ has made Himself so available that anyone can receive Him and experience Him.

　　Human beings are like a rubber tire, and the Spirit is like the air. Many people live with "flat tires" in their lives; they are depressed and plod along life's journey in a bumpy way. What we need is the heavenly air—the life-giving Spirit of Christ. When we have Him, our ride will be smooth, and we will be filled with the heavenly pneuma!

　　The Spirit can also be illustrated by electricity. In modern civilization nearly every home has electricity installed in it. We need electricity to drive the fan, the clock, the refrigerator, the telephone, the doorbell, the television, and many other appliances. Without electricity our lives would nearly come to a standstill. Although electricity is so applicable, the source of electricity is far away from us in the hydroelectric power plant. God is like the awesome power plant up at the head of the river; He is most powerful. In order for that mighty power to be applied to us, there is the need of power lines to convey the current of electricity to us. The incarnated Christ as a man with His humanity is like the power line; He came from God the Father to us to bring God to us in our human situation. The resurrected Christ as the life-giving Spirit is like the electrical current that carries the mighty hydroelectric power from the power plant into our homes. The electrical current applies the power and turns it into sound, light, heat and other useful forms in our homes. In the same way the Spirit as the current of the heavenly electricity applies all that God is to us. Through the Spirit we have love, light, truth, joy, power, and all the attributes of God. If we do not have the Spirit in us, our lives will be full of darkness, weakness, and suffocation. But the Spirit applies the Triune God to us and makes our life meaningful and full.

　　Many people think that to be a Christian is merely to improve their behavior or to be religious. They even build large cathedrals in which to worship God. Yet the most necessary thing is not to be outwardly good or religious. It is foolish for anyone to clean his lamps or adorn his television set without applying electricity to them. The only thing that matters is to apply electricity to the appliances. What man needs is not bigger buildings or more religious ceremonies; none of these will give him the inward power. What man needs is the Spirit, because the Spirit is the application of God Himself to man.

　　When a person believes in the Lord Jesus, the Spirit comes into this person and lives within him. Second Timothy 4:22 says that the Lord Jesus Christ is with our spirit. We do not need to go to heaven to find God, and we do not need to make any pilgrimage on earth to touch Him. The most holy place is now in our spirit. When electricity is installed in a house, all that a person has to do is to turn on the switch. Today, the Spirit is "installed" in this universe—Christ has accomplished all the work, and as the life-giving Spirit, He is now everywhere. Whenever we call on the Lord's name, our spirits are "switched on," and we can experience all that God is.

　　We can explain the mystery of the Spirit by yet another illustration. One day in the summer I bought a watermelon from the market. The melon was large, and I perspired a lot in bringing it home. My intention was to eat and digest that melon. In order to do this, first I had to cut the melon into slices. To make it even easier to receive the melon, I then squeezed the melon slices into melon juice. That big melon became so enjoyable to me through the melon juice. Originally, God was in heaven. He can be illustrated by the big, uncut melon. One day He became a man and was crucified on the cross. Through His crucifixion He was "cut into slices." But the process did not stop there; after His death He resurrected and was transformed into the form of the Spirit. This is like squeezing the melon slices into melon juice. The Spirit is like the juice of the melon. Through this process God became accessible to us. Today, the God whom we worship is not the "uncut" God. He is a "processed" God. In other words, He has passed through a process to become the life-giving Spirit. Now we do not need to sweat and struggle to reach Him; He has become so enjoyable and accessible to us - (Christ is Spirit and Life).